


Birds of a Feather [DISCONTINUED- being revamped]

by shepherdofmantle (account_now_inactive)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst with a Happy Ending, Clover POV, F/F, F/M, Faunus discrimination, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I take a shit on canon, Ironwood's a little bitch boy, Kinda enemies?, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Qrow POV, and Marrow has it, clover's worldview gets challenged, enemies to idiots to lovers, eventual gays in space, ish, the Ace Ops have one braincell, the gang becomes enemies of the state, well as far as V7 is concerned, wow that's a tag?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:09:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22471606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/account_now_inactive/pseuds/shepherdofmantle
Summary: When General Ironwood sends Ace Operative Clover Ebi to track down fugitives before they cause too much trouble, he expects just another job. He doesn't expect a group of teenagers tangled in a plot much bigger than Atlas, pursued by dark and dangerous forces. The more he learns, the more he starts to question Ironwood's orders, and what the right decisions are.He is totally not falling in love with Qrow Branwen.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 131
Kudos: 304





	1. Fate and Fortune

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically me trying to handle ch. 12. It hit me really hard, and not in a good way. So anyway, here's this stupid lil au, basically a mix of RWBY and Star Wars. There will be more worldbuilding in later chapters, but each kingdom in the show is its own planet. This picks off right after Volume 6. 
> 
> Shoutout to my best friend Anna for beta'ing this for me. Im so lucky she puts up with my bullshit <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my way of dealing with ch. 12. Hopefully this is a little coherent. It's just a stupid lil au I thought up. It's basically a cross between RWBY and Star Wars. Each kingdom is its own planet. I'll do some more worldbuilding in the next few chapters but hopefully that helps lol. 
> 
> Shoutout to my best friend Anna for beta'ing this and putting up with all my bullshit.

Clover glanced around the café, nursing a coffee and feeling out of place and very, very silly. It wasn’t the first place he would have looked for a group of criminals, but Atlas authorities had spent nearly a month scouring for them in known criminal hangouts and come up with nothing, so when an informant had told them their targets had been spotted in a small outpost town near Mantle, Ironwood had sent him straight there.

That would have been fine, if he had sent Clover in with any idea what these criminals looked like outside of how many there were (ten), and what they had done (stealing Atlas property, destroying anti-Grimm weapons, and conspiring against the kingdom). Clover had beaten worse odds, but he was going in without any backup because Ironwood couldn’t afford to send any other Ace Ops away.

He pulled out his scroll and flicked through the descriptions again, each grainy shot of surveillance footage supplemented by descriptions from the informant. None of it was particularly enlightening outside of battle. Their weapons were distinctive, but their faces were all covered in the footage.

One of them was a Faunus, though, and he could work with that. Female, late teens, long black hair, golden eyes, often seen with another young woman with long blonde hair. The report mentioned an older woman with mechanical eyes, but he doubted they would send someone so distinctive out in public, even outside of Mantle. There weren’t many spots they could be hiding though, so with a sigh he swallowed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and turned to get out of his chair, just in time to hear shouts of “Grimm!” from outside.

He sighed and stood, stepping outside into the cold sunlight. A few of the residents rushed past him, towards shelters and hiding places outposts like these on every planet in the system needed. He heard the Grimm before he saw them, three Megoliaths stomping across the open plains towards the settlement.

Shit.

He drew Kingfisher and started running to meet the Grimm head-on, hoping that his semblance let him pull some miracle out of his ass. Elm would have been nice to have at his back right now, or even Marrow. This situation was looking a little grim (heh), but complaining wouldn’t keep them away from the outpost. He threw Kingfisher’s line ahead of him, catching the tusks of one of them. He yanked himself forward, flying past its face, its tusk just barely missing his side as he twisted out of the way.

It screeched, turning to follow him, and the other two followed suit. That solved one problem, but now he had three very big, very angry problems running right at him. He ran to meet them head on, sliding under the middle’s foot as it stomped at him. He lashed out with Kingfisher, catching the left with the razor edge of the hook. It screamed, gouging its tusk into the middle’s shoulder in its fury.

The stupid thing didn’t die, just reared into the air and stomped down, shaking the ground and nearly sending Clover stumbling into the ground. He ducked under the left’s trunk as it swung at him, rolling forward and to his feet just in time for the right to swoop in and smack him. He went flying back, his aura flickering but holding, thankfully.

His thanks didn’t last long.

The middle Grimm roared and charged, too fast and too close for him to dodge. He cursed and rolled to his feet. He would have to roll right under it and hope it hadn’t learned from last time. He saw the other two start to turn back towards the outpost, so he reared back and hooked the end of Kingfisher’s line into the closest one’s flank and let it pull him out of the path of the charging Grimm. He was having too many close calls this fight, he needed to end it soon before something bad happened.

He yanked himself up the flank of the Grimm to where the hook was still embedded in its side and grabbed on to one of the bone plates protruding out of its skin. He jumped from plate to plate until he could climb onto its back and pulled the hook free to run up to its head. He drove the blade at the end of Kingfisher’s grip into the weak spot at the base of its skull and twisted until the Grimm cried out and tried to shake him. It shuddered and fell to its knees and started to turn to smoke underneath his feet.

He would have landed right in the path of the charging Grimm again had a burst of red not hit him with surprising force and carried him well out of its path. A trail of petals followed their path across the packed snow, ending at the feet of the young woman pulling a weapon off her back.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome!” she said as she unfolded it into a scythe almost double her size. She buried the blade into the ground and started firing shots at the Grimm. Several others were darting around the two remaining Grimm, keeping their attention away from the outpost. 

He dove back into the fray, joining the group that seemed to be having trouble with the larger, and probably older, Grimm. One of the young Huntsmen was calling out team attacks, and the Grimm seemed to be just keeping up with them as they chipped away at it. 

“I’m taking out its legs!” Clover shouted. 

The blond blinked in surprise, but he reacted quickly, calling out, “Nora, get back! Ren, distract it!” 

The red-headed young woman darted away while the black-haired young man fired at its face. Clover took advantage of the distraction and threw Kingfisher’s line forward, wrapping it around its front foot. Before it could react and kick him halfway across Atlas, he started running in a circle around it. Every time it tried to turn to keep him from wrapping the line around its legs, the other three would renew their attack, firing round after round at its face. 

“Nora, now!” the blond. 

She whooped and charged forward, driving her hammer into its side with enough force to make Elm proud. It toppled over, sending a spray of snow and ice into the air. A man ran past him and stabbed his sword through its stomach. It thrashed once and then went still, dissolving into smoke.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Nora shrieked. “You just charged in by yourself? Against three Megoliaths?” 

“Please,” Clover said, resting Kingfisher against his shoulder. “I was lucky you showed up.” 

The man pulling his sword out of the ground frowned, something flickering across his face too fast for Clover to read. Footsteps from behind him drew his attention to the four young Huntresses making their way across the disturbed snow towards him. He glanced at each one- the young woman in red who had practically tackled him, a young white-haired woman who looked remarkably like Winter Schnee, to the dark haired cat Faunus, to the tall blonde almost glued to her side. 

Holy shit. 

He wasn’t sure if this was his semblance or a strange twist of fate. Either way, he couldn’t let this opportunity slide past him. He smiled as he holstered Kingfisher, scanning the area just in case they missed any more Grimm. 

“That was some impressive work,” he said. “Are you from around here?” 

“No. We uh, came from Mistral,” the young woman in red said. She kicked at the snow and added, “We’re just passing through.” 

It wasn’t uncommon for someone from Mistral to pass through, or even move to a whole new planet, especially after Beacon was attacked by a massive horde of Grimm a few years ago. If he hadn’t been actively looking for them, he wouldn’t have thought much of it. 

“Odd choice for a destination,” he remarked.

“You’re here too,” the man said. 

“Touche,” Clover said as he glanced over at him. “I’m Clover, by the way.” 

“Qrow.” He turned on his heel and started back towards the settlement without another word. 

“Don’t take it personally,” Nora advised. She elbowed Ren and grinned. “I’m just glad it wasn’t that scorpion creep this time.” 

It took a second for her words to register, and when they did, he nearly did a double-take. 

“Scorpion creep?” he asked. 

“Yeah, he tried to kill my sister,” the blonde woman said, nudging the one in red.

“And us!” Nora added. “Poisoned Qrow too.”

“You don’t mean Tyrian Callows?”

“I think that’s his name?” the one in red answered, scrunching up her face in thought. “He won’t leave us alone.” 

“Tyrian Callows the serial killer is after you?” 

“Yeah.” She rubbed the back of her neck with a small laugh. “Wait. He’s a serial killer?”

“That surprises you why?” Ren asked. 

That complicated things. Clover followed the group back to the settlement, only half-listening to their conversation. He had accomplished his mission and found the fugitives, all he had to do was call it in, but Callows had been on the wanted list for years, far longer than a group of teens, and for far worse crimes. If they might lead him to Callows, then he couldn’t pass up this opportunity, even if it meant spending more time around Qrow.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the blonde woman elbowed him in the side. 

“I asked why you’re so interested in that asshole anyway.” 

“Qrow?” 

The group burst into laughter. 

“No, Tyrian,” she said. 

“Oh.” He cleared his throat as if that could hide the blush rising to his cheeks. “I’m actually trying to arrest him.” 

“Hey you can help us!” the woman in red exclaimed. 

“Ruby, we don’t even know him,” Qrow said. “For all we know he could be-” 

“Come on, Uncle Qrow, if he arrests Tyrian then we never have to see him again. Then we can like, actually relax a little,” the blonde said. 

“Besides, we can take him,” Nora added. The teens nodded in agreement and Qrow sighed heavily. “Great, that’s settled, I’m hungry.” 

Clover blinked once. Had they just done half his work for him? Qrow glared at him, as if he knew what Clover was thinking. He shrugged, as if to say, “What can you do?” Qrow sighed again and turned to follow the teens, leaving Clover to fall into step behind him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his scroll to send a message to Ironwood. 

_Going to be a bit longer than expected._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I head canon Clover as being a wee bit of a disaster even if he never shows it.


	2. Maria Knows What's Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta this chapter, sorry if I missed a mistake!

Qrow followed the kids back to the lodgings they were renting, stewing in his own thoughts. He wasn’t sulking, per se, just figuring out how to remind the kids that not every Huntsman or Huntress they came across could be trusted. After all, look what happened with Lionheart. They were lucky the random old lady they picked up turned out to be Maria fucking Calavera, Grimm Reaper, and very much on their side. 

“Ruby!” he called, almost freezing in place as he realized they had completely forgotten about Maria, Oscar, and the relic. “Uh, go tell Oscar that we’re bringing a guest so he’s not too surprised.” 

To emphasize his point, he rested a hand on his hip. She grinned and zipped off in a blur of red, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. He could feel Clover staring at him but he crossed his arms and kept his eyes straight ahead. It wasn’t like the man was ridiculously attractive. Qrow definitely hadn’t faltered as he and the kids charged into battle because Clover’s shirt did nothing to hide his muscles. 

He glared at nothing in particular and stomped after the kids into the small house. Ruby was just slamming one of the cupboards shut as he and Clover walked in. She spun around and smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible. Oscar leaned against the table with one hand, as if he were trying to act natural. Only Maria looked remotely like she wasn’t hiding something. 

When they walked in, she tapped the side of her eyes and squinted at Clover. He didn’t seem to have noticed her, raising an eyebrow at Ruby and Oscar. Qrow resisted the urge to facepalm in front of him. 

“You didn’t tell me this Huntsman was such a fine young man,” Maria said. 

“Maria!” Ruby shrieked. 

“What? I’m old, not blind.” 

“I think we have different definitions of young,” Jaune said. 

“Are you calling me old?” Clover asked. 

“Everyone is young when you’re as old as I am,” Maria retorted. 

Jaune fumbled for an answer, blushing a faint pink, until Nora swooped in to save him by saying, “He’s not as old as Qrow.” 

“Okay we’re done with this conversation,” Qrow said. He couldn’t bring himself to be mad as the kids dissolved into laughter. He glanced over at Clover, who seemed almost sad, but the expression was gone before Qrow could get a good look at it. 

“I guess we should probably talk about Tyrian,” Ruby sighed. The mood sobered immediately and Weiss crossed her arms as she stared at Clover. He didn’t even flinch under the weight of the infamous Schnee glare. 

“Why are you here looking for him?” she asked. “Has he been sighted nearby?” 

“Allegedly.” Clover looked away from Weiss to glance over everyone in the room. “Where was the last place you saw him?” 

“Halfway across the planet,” Ruby said. “Nora kinda threw him off a cliff.” 

“Yep!” Nora piped up. “Though he’s survived worse.” 

Clover set his scroll down on the table and pulled up a holographic map of the planet. He spun it with one finger and placed a green marker just east of the dots marking Atlas City and Mantle. “If this is where we are now, can you show me where you last saw him?” 

Ruby squinted at the map, spinning it around a little before settling on a point. “Right here, I think.” 

“No, no, it was definitely farther south. Don’t you remember getting stuck in that blizzard?” Yang asked. She pointed to a new spot, until Nora roughly shoved her away.   
“But we backtracked and then went straight west! It was right here!” she argued. 

Behind them, Blake and Ren exchanged an exasperated look. Weiss groaned and muttered something unflattering under her breath as she approached the hologram. “The chasm is a spinoff of part of a larger system that runs through the open tundra. It was right here.” 

She jabbed her finger into the hologram and placed another green marker. Clover inspected the map and nodded, tapping a finger on his chin. “That makes sense. Unfortunately, those aren’t as deep that far from the main canyon, and it has plenty of ledges that could have stopped his fall.” 

“You know those canyons?” Weiss asked. “There’s not much out there to protect.” 

Clover stiffened, barely enough to be noticeable.

“No, there’s not. Another Huntsman and I chased a pack of Grimm out there, and he got stuck in one of those canyons.” He shook his head, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Rookie mistake, stepping too close to the edge. Snow gave out. Should have heard him scream. Poor kid was teased for months.” 

“We’ve all made that mistake,” Maria chuckled. 

“Some more than others!” Nora said, slapping Jaune on the back. He glared at her, but she didn’t pay him any mind. Nobody else seemed to have noticed the Huntsman’s brief hesitation- he was hiding something, and Qrow would find out what. 

“Try and think of a plan, but you should get some rest,” Clover said. “I’ll meet you down the street with some ideas of my own. Their coffee makes the cold a little more bearable.” 

The kids waited until Clover had shut the door behind him before they exploded into conversation, bouncing ideas back and forth, retelling the fight to Oscar and Maria, and arguing over what to cook for dinner. Qrow rubbed a hand across his forehead to try and ward away the oncoming headache as he turned towards the door. 

“I need some air. I’ll be back.” 

Yang shot him a look, but he shook his head to reassure her that he really was just getting air. The door clicked shut behind him and after a quick glance to make sure the street was empty, he leaped off the steps and into the air. 

The small black crow circled higher into the sky, leaving only a few small black feathers to drift down onto the ground.


	3. Clover Questions His Sanity feat. Marrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alternate title: Clover being a dork when he thinks no one is watching

Clover shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked down the street to his own lodgings. The encounter played in his mind over and over as he tried to figure out why Tyrian Callows would be after them, and what reason they had to be in Atlas. Ironwood seemed to think they were here to undermine law and order on Atlas, but Clover hadn’t seen scheming criminals when he looked at them. 

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, but when he looked towards it, all he saw was a solitary crow sitting on top of one of the buildings. He raised an eyebrow, a little surprised to see it this far north. “Are you all by yourself?” he asked it. It cocked its head at him and hopped a little on the edge of the roof. 

His scroll rang, causing him to jump a little. He cleared his throat and glanced up and down the street to make sure nobody saw him talking to a bird and pulled it from his pocket. Marrow’s photo stared out at him- a picture the rookie had taken on Clover’s scroll when he had been stupid enough to fall asleep in the common room one night, of Marrow with his face scrunched up, and an angry Harriet in the background- and he groaned. 

“You better have a good reason for calling me,” Clover said. 

Marrow was silent for a moment. 

“I heard you were going to be gone for a while,” he said eventually. 

“Yes. I got a lead.” His voice turned teasing as he added, “You’re not going to miss me are you?” 

“What? No!” Marrow yelped. “But Harriet is insufferable when you’re not here.” 

“Oh really?” 

“And Elm can’t cook.” 

“You do know there is a cafeteria, right?” 

“All they serve is soup.” Clover tried to stifle a laugh, but evidently he failed, because Marrow spluttered on the other end of the line. “Stop laughing! You know I hate soup!” 

“You’re breaking up, the signal must not be very strong here,” Clover said. “Gotta go!”

“Wait!” He paused with his finger over the ‘drop call’ button. “I just wanted to say, be careful and don’t do anything stupid.” 

“Don’t worry,” Clover assured him. “I will. Don’t let Elm’s cooking kill you.” 

He hung up and slipped his scroll back into his pocket. He liked Marrow well enough, but he wasn’t sure what the point of the call had been. There was no reason Marrow should be worried about him; he hadn’t told Ironwood exactly why he was extending his mission, and even if he had, Ironwood wouldn’t have told Marrow. 

Was Marrow actually going to miss him? 

He frowned and looked back up at the bird, as if it would answer his question. It tilted its head to look at him with one eye, but it didn’t provide any enlightenment.  
“Kids,” he said with a shake of his head. “I don’t suppose you know anything about that?” 

It turned its head and looked at him with its other eye. 

“Right? I just don’t get them sometimes. Though I suppose Marrow isn’t technically a kid anymore.” He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Maybe I’m just old.” 

It cawed once. 

“No, you’re right. I’m not that old.” 

It was then he realized he was talking to a bird. He sighed again and turned away from it before anyone caught him, and he started to question his sanity. 

Clover was almost halfway through his second cup of coffee before the kids showed up- or, rather, Ruby, Jaune, and a rumpled Qrow showed up. Ruby cradled a massive cup of coffee in her hands, while Jaune made quick work of a muffin as they walked towards him. Qrow held his own cup of coffee, more reasonably sized than Ruby’s. He had been staring at Clover with piercing red eyes, but as soon as he looked towards him, he scowled and glared down at his coffee. He couldn’t quite decipher the look Qrow had been giving him, but the man was hard enough to read as it was. 

They sat down across from him, and Ruby pulled out a stack of papers, covered in at least seven different styles of handwriting and badly drawn stick figures. She spread the stack out across the table and looked at Clover expectantly, practically bouncing in her seat. Jaune finished the rest of his muffin in one gulp and leaned over the table to point to one of the papers. 

“This is our best one, in my opinion,” he said. The paper showed a stick figure running from another one- Callows, he assumed, if the curly tail coming out of its butt and the disturbing expression on its face was anything to go by- and some sort of shape that vaguely resembled a pot of soup. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Qrow hiding a smirk behind his coffee cup. 

“Walk me through it,” Clover said, because he didn’t think the plan was to give Callows a pot of soup. 

“So, he hates me right?” Ruby started. “We spread a rumor that I’ve been spotted near here. When he shows up I lead him right into a trap! I can use my super speed to get away and he falls into a hole we dig! Then we can knock him out.” 

That made more sense. 

“It’s not a bad start,” Clover said. “But doesn’t he know you’re traveling in a group? There’s no guarantee you can get him to run over the trap, or that he won’t spot it. There’s also the risk he’ll be able to sneak up on you.”

“Just leave me out of it and they’ll be fine,” Qrow muttered. Ruby delivered a swift kick to the leg of his chair, nearly spilling his coffee all over his lap. Clover didn’t think he was supposed to hear that, but even Ruby seemed to deflate a little over his comment. 

“What do you mean?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“My semblance.” Qrow frowned at the table. “It brings bad luck.” 

Clover had never met anyone else with a semblance like his- even if Qrow’s was, in a sense, the opposite of his. Vine had spent hours puzzling over the logic of a luck semblance, insisting that no, there was no way that was his semblance, until Clover beat him in twenty consecutive rounds of cards. This was a situation he should take advantage of, try and figure out just how that worked, if only to try and understand his own semblance better. 

Clover’s stupid brain, unfortunately, was miles ahead of him. 

“Well, my semblance just happens to be good luck.” He smiled like an idiot and winked. “Lucky you, huh?” 

He caught up with his brain and looked away from Qrow before the man saw the panic in his eyes. Ruby and Jaune stared at him with wide eyes, and Qrow hadn’t said a word, but he couldn’t force himself to turn and look at him. 

“So. The plan,” he prompted. 

“Right,” Jaune said. 

Clover was going to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote half of this while watching the Superbowl and the other half in bed sick, so I really hope it turns out alright. I'm gonna be busy for the next few days so I got this chapter out a little early for y'all.


	4. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Qrow is a bird brain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is shorter than the others, partially bc I wasn't sure what to do with it and partially because school has been hectic recently. Don't worry, the others will be longer! But I also didn't want to keep yall waiting too long.

Qrow wasn’t quite sure what had happened, but Ruby and Jaune finally seemed satisfied with the plan. Clover had managed to render him speechless for the whole meeting with a single line, and he couldn’t let that stand. As Ruby and Jaune gathered up their notes, chattering away and making for the door, Qrow glanced down at Clover finishing his coffee. 

“Kids. I don’t suppose you know anything about that?” 

Qrow waited just long enough to watch Clover choke on his coffee before turning and following the kids out the door, probably more satisfied than he should be, but it had been so worth it to see the look on Mr. Perfect’s face. So maybe he had replayed the event of last night over and over in his mind, until he had memorized the entire conversation- as much of one as it could be when Qrow was in bird form. It had everything to do for combing the conversation, from the time Clover had answered his scroll to when he had seemed to realize he was talking to a bird, and nothing to do with how he had looked, his expression more open and carefree than it had been around human-Qrow. 

“What was that about?” Jaune asked as Qrow caught up to them. 

“Nothing, just saying goodbye,” Qrow answered vaguely. 

“After the man straight up flirted with you like that?” 

“There was nothing straight about that,” Ruby snickered. 

Qrow groaned. Of course they had picked up on that, and once they reached their lodgings, the whole group would know before he had a chance to get a word in edgewise. It wasn’t like he had even flirted back- Clover hadn’t given him a chance, and if he had, Qrow certainly wouldn’t have taken it. He still didn’t trust him, and it would take more than a wink and a strange coincidence to change that. 

They would get Tyrian off their tail, no pun intended, and then they would ditch Clover before he figured out that they had stolen Atlas military property. They’d been careful to hide their faces during the heist, but with their luck, there were already warrants out for their arrest. The last thing they needed to add onto their growing list of crimes was resisting arrest and assaulting a Huntsman. 

Qrow still thought they should count their losses and disappear to Vacuo. It didn’t seem like they’d ever get a chance to get to Ironwood, and they most certainly couldn’t talk to him from jail. But nobody ever listened to Qrow, it seemed. 

He’d just have to find some proof. 

Bird form wouldn’t quite cut it. He’d have to get close to the man, pretend like he trusted him, and as soon as he found the evidence, he could show it to the kids. Maybe Clover would even flirt with him a little more- not that he wanted that, right? He was just cute, and had a nice smile, and treated the kids with respect, and had a semblance that happened to balance out Qrow’s and- 

Fuck.


	5. Just Take the Fricking ComplimEEEEENT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just shamelessly ripping off scenes from canon at this point

Clover scrolled through his contacts, but almost every single one of them were work contacts, which meant he couldn’t call them and ask them to spread a rumor- he was pretty sure that broke protocol in at least seven different ways. Then that would lead to more questions, like, why hasn’t he arrested them yet, or at least called for back-up, actual serial killer be damned. Marrow might help, but he was terrible at keeping secrets, and the whole Ace Ops team would know about it by the end of the day, and then the General, and Ironwood would feel a lot more generous if he had an escaped serial killer to offer. 

A knock at his door startled him out of his thoughts. He stood, stepping over his bag- still packed, in case of an emergency- and opened the door to find Qrow on the doorstep. His mind blanked for a second, then two, then three as he stared at the other man. What was he doing here? Had something happened? Or was he here to chew Clover out for flirting with him? Or had he figured out Clover’s real orders? 

Qrow interrupted his train of thought by clearing his throat and asking, “Uh, so can I come in?” 

“Of course,” Clover said, scrambling to hide his sudden panic. “You just startled me.” 

“Thanks. It’s kinda cold out there.” Qrow chuckled and stepped past Clover into the lodging. His eyes darted around the space, and with mounting horror, Clover realized he hadn’t made his bed this morning. It wasn’t like any of his teammates could walk in and report him for it, and he hadn’t expected the very cute Huntsman to show up on his doorstep. “Wow, you really keep this place clean, don’t you?” 

Was he making a jab at the bed? Sure, the rest of the place was nearly spotless- Clover didn’t use the kitchenette, and he didn’t have much that would create a mess- but the messy bed stood out all the more because of it. Maybe he was just fixating on it and Qrow didn’t actually care. 

“Habit,” Clover said with a shrug. “Can I help you with something?” 

“Right.” The whole interaction had been incredibly awkward, and he still didn’t know why Qrow had come to his house, or, now that he thought about it, how he knew where he was staying. “I wanted to discuss the plan with you.” 

“Oh.” He shouldn’t be so disappointed. This is a job, after all, and they’re both Huntsmen. It was nothing personal, he told himself. “Of course. What part of it?” 

“All of it?” Qrow rubbed the back of his neck, blushing slightly. “I kinda missed it. After the soup thing.” 

“So, the whole plan?” 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

Was that Clover’s fault? 

“You do know the kids have the plan, too.” 

“Yeah, but they’re being, uh, difficult.” 

That was definitely Clover’s fault, if the blush spreading across Qrow’s face was any indication. He winced, tugging at the sleeve of his shirt. It wouldn’t be the first time he had flirted his way into trouble, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. 

“Sorry about that.” 

“Nah,” Qrow said, waving his hand. “It’s what they do. Don’t worry about it too much.” 

“They’re quite the interesting bunch of kids,” Clover said as he pulled out a chair for Qrow. He chose his next words carefully, remembering the face Qrow had made when speaking of his semblance. “They seem to really look up to you.” 

“Once upon a time, I would have drank to that,” Qrow chuckled. 

“You shouldn’t do that,” Clover said with a frown. 

“Don’t worry, I gave that up.” 

“No, I mean deflect a compliment.” 

For the second time that day, Clover managed to leave Qrow speechless. He managed to mumble out something unintelligible and cleared his throat. “Uh, so, the plan,” he prompted. 

“Right,” Clover agreed. He launched into a brief explanation of the plan- he would find a way to spread the rumor that Ruby and her friends had been spotted out in the tundra, they would lie in wait for Callows and ambush him when he showed up. 

“It sounds simple enough,” Qrow said. “There’s a lot that could go wrong, though.” 

“That’s what I’m worried about,” he admitted. “However, sometimes simple is better.” 

“I’ll feel better when that asshole isn’t putting those kids in danger.” 

“Do you have any idea why he’s after you?” Clover asked. 

“Not really,” Qrow said, dropping his eyes to the table. “He attacked us on Mistral and Ruby shot off his tail. Thought that would be the last of him, but then he showed up again, with a shiny new prosthetic tail.”

That was more than a little suspicious, but Clover didn’t press Qrow on his obvious lie for the moment. He frowned, thinking over the other Huntsman’s words, and the one very worrying piece of information. 

“A new tail, huh? That takes skill to make. There are very few people alive who could do that.” And Pietro Polendina sure as hell wouldn’t have done it. “Any idea where he got it?”  
“Unfortunately, no. He might have someone looking out for him, but it’s just as likely he threatened somebody for it.”

Clover made a mental note to order someone to look into that when he got back to the city. He didn’t have all the information, but Qrow wasn’t going to tell him, at least not willingly, or at the present moment. At the moment, he had to focus on figuring out someone to help him spread that rumor- maybe one of those recent Academy graduates- and then he could formulate a plan to figuring out what was going on with Qrow and all these kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost to some fun hijinks and I am Excited!! Hope yall enjoy this chapter! :3
> 
> I also just realized I kinda accidentally gave Clover anxiety. Oops?


	6. Qrow's Delicate Sensibilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uh oh

Qrow managed not to break into a run the moment Clover’s door closed behind him. He made sure he was out of sight of the windows before he leaned against a wall, taking in a long, slow breath through his nose before letting it out his mouth. His breath clouded in the air in front of him, but it didn’t give him answers to what had just happened. What was it about this one Huntsman that managed to get under his skin so easily? 

He still hadn’t learned anything useful, and, while he had managed to dodge exactly why Tyrian was being a pain in the ass, he didn’t think Clover was going to drop it. It wasn’t exactly easy to explain that they were trying to stop an evil, immortal woman who nobody knew existed from conquering the whole solar system. 

He glanced up and down the street, making sure no curious eyes were looking out windows, before he shifted into his crow form, soaring out above the roofs and circling twice before landing on Clover’s windowsill. He peered through the curtains, watching the man frown at his scroll like it was a particularly difficult math problem. He sat there for a moment, enjoying the slight crease of the other man’s forehead, the way he leaned his head on one hand, his fingers tapping idly on the table. 

After a moment, Qrow tapped his beak against the window, earning a positively delightful look of surprise from the man. He stood, making his way to the window, and parted the curtain, staring out at Qrow with raised eyebrows. He ruffled his feathers, tapping on the window again, and tilted his head up at Clover. 

The Huntsman reached out and unlocked the window, opening it inward so Qrow could hop in and flutter to the table. He closed the window so the cold didn’t seep in and sat back down, watching as Qrow hopped towards his scroll. 

“I don’t suppose you’re here to help,” Clover said. 

He was an absolute fucking dork. 

“Well, Elm says talking out loud helps people think,” he continued. He had mentioned Elm before, something about cooking. She must be a teammate. Qrow stored that away for later, to see if he could look her up- or discreetly ask Weiss about her. “Talking to a bird isn’t as weird as talking to yourself, right?” 

Qrow cawed an affirmative. 

“I suppose I’m just overthinking, is all. It’s a lot easier to do that off the field. More time to think.” He sighed heavily. “You see, I’m kinda pulling a Robyn.” 

Qrow tilted his head, trilling in confusion. 

“Robyn? She’s got a good heart, she’s just what you could call, ah, unconventional.” He ran a hand through his hair, messing up his perfectly slicked-back hair, leaving it sticking up in places. It looked much better that way, Qrow thought. “But she’s also not part of the Atlesian military, so it’s not like she’s ever actually disobeying a direct order.” 

Oh, that was odd. Qrow tilted his head the other way, hopping closer. 

“Oh, don’t you start in on me, too. I’m very aware they could be lying, or working with Callows. But I don’t think so. Though they are hiding something.” Clover sighed again, looking back down at his scroll and flicking through his contacts. Some of them flashed by too fast for Qrow to see, but he caught a few names- Hazard to Society, Wags, Flynt, Don’t Fucking Answer- before he stopped on one. Qrow hopped onto his arm, careful not to tear his sleeve with his claws, and stared down at the name. “Yeah, this could work.” 

Pietro Polendina. The name sounded oddly familiar, though Qrow couldn’t place it off the top of his head. He swiveled his head to look up at Clover, cawing once. 

“Can you even read?” Clover asked. Qrow bristled, feathers puffing up, and the man laughed. “Okay, sorry. I think it was a fair question. You’re a fucking bird.” 

A laugh, almost human, burst from Qrow’s beak. He hadn’t expected the straight-laced Huntsman to ever drop a cuss word like that, but he didn’t exactly know the crow on his arm was, well, Qrow. 

Just then, his scroll dinged, signaling a new message. Qrow snatched it in his beak and fluttered over to the bed, dropping it on the blankets and staring down at it. Clover yelped, but it wasn’t like birds could read, according to him. He looked down at the message- from one ‘Speedy McGee’- that read “What the fuck do you mean you’re extending the mission for an unspecified period of time. They’re literally just thieves. Did you need to get away from Vine that fucking bad?” 

Clover snatched it away from Qrow, giving him a glare. “Those are expensive, you know. Please don’t do that.” He glanced at the message, his eyebrows raising. Qrow huffed, tilting his head back and forth and flapping his wings a few times. “Believe it or not, that’s actually pretty tame for her.” 

Qrow ruffled his feathers and flapped over to the window, tapping on the glass a couple times. Clover sighed, following him over to the window. “I’m really sorry she offended your delicate sensibilities.” 

That wasn’t it, but Clover absolutely did not need to know that. 

Qrow leaped out the window and soared into the air, where he could think far away from any distractions. If he had interpreted the message right- and psssh, Qrow never jumped to conclusions- then Clover had lied about his actual mission. There was no reason to do that, except if the thieves he was apparently sent after were the thieves he was working with at that very moment. Sure, he was helping them with Tyrian at the moment, but what about after? Would he turn around and arrest them? 

With a heavy internal sigh, Qrow angles towards their lodging and wondered how the hell he would explain this to the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nobody:   
> me: actually, it's time for angst now
> 
> in all seriousness, I can't wait until Marrow shows up in person and gets to be a badass. I just really love him okay


	7. Out in the Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bastard has arrived and Clover gets the shovel talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I say, over two weeks later. But hey! Happy fair game week everyone!! I've really enjoyed seeing all the art and fics, thank you to everyone who has participated!

Pietro agreed to help without asking too many questions. Clover had never known the man particularly well, but Ironwood seemed to trust him, and the man had made Penny- probably the sweetest person in the whole solar system, android or not. While waiting for the rumor to properly circulate, Clover dug out small cameras mostly used for watching trails for big game and set to repurposing them for keeping an eye out for a certain serial killer. 

Two of Qrow’s kids, Blake and Yang, had decided that they absolutely must accompany him, and no amount of protesting would dissuade them. 

Yang followed along next to him, watching as he attached one to a scraggly tundra bush, while Blake followed a little ways behind, pretending to examine random rocks or patches of lichen while eavesdropping on their conversation. 

“So,” Yang said. 

“So,” Clover echoed. 

“You and my uncle.” 

Ah, there it was. 

“I’m not sure I follow.” 

“Well, I heard a really interesting story from Ruby.” He supposed good luck could only get him so far. “Is your semblance really good luck?” 

“Yes, it really is.” This wasn’t exactly where he thought this conversation would be going, but he couldn’t quite see where Yang was taking it. She studied him with bright lilac eyes as he stood up, brushing frozen dirt off his knees. 

“Ya know, Qrow really does want to like you. But he’s not exactly had the best experiences with other people.” Yang followed him as he set off to find another place to hide a camera. Blake trailed behind, examining a particularly interesting rock in her hands. “I’d really hate it if you turned out your intentions weren’t what you say they are.” 

That was certainly on the nose, considering the circumstances. 

“Do you have something to say to me,” he asked. 

“Do you have something to say to us?” Yang challenged. Their strange little stand-off stretched out for several tense minutes as they walked across the tundra, occasionally hiding sensors in a bush or under some rocks. Finally, Yang shrugged at Blake- Clover didn’t think he was supposed to see that, but he caught the quick movement of her shoulders out of the corner of his eye. 

That was worrying. 

After three days of nothing, and stubbornly ignoring Clover, Qrow was about ready to lose his mind. The kids had found ways to entertain themselves- training with Clover during the day, and inventing new card games and bending the rules of board games during the evening. Qrow, as a general rule, didn’t play any games that required luck, and he was currently avoiding Clover, like he wished the kids would. 

If a certain crow watched their training sessions, perched on top of nearby buildings, well, that was nobody’s business. 

Finally, on the fourth day, Qrow had just acquired a nice, steaming cup of hot chocolate from Oscar when their scrolls all dinged. Qrow groaned, eyeing the cup of hot chocolate regretfully as Ruby shot to her feet, waving her scroll in the air. 

“We got him! Scorpion spotted!” she shouted, startling Blake off her perch on the back of the couch. 

“Go on,” Maria said, pulling Qrow’s mug out of his hand. “I won’t let this go to waste.” 

“Old bat,” he muttered, but he surrendered his hot chocolate to her without much of a fight. The kids scrambled into action, grabbing weapons and double-checking their stocks of ammo. Qrow had to raise his voice to be heard above the chaos. “Remember the plan!” 

“Yeah, yeah, old man,” Yang said as she ducked past him. “Don’t worry.” 

Qrow grabbed Harbinger and followed them out into the freezing cold. Luckily (for once), it was only mid-afternoon, so the sun wouldn’t set for another few hours- in the dark, Tyrian would have the advantage over all of them except Blake, and that would make their mission nearly impossible. He followed the kids out of town, towards the rocky fields south of town. As they got closer, the kids broke away into their groups, ready to jump in if needed. They had firm instructions not to join in unless necessary- not only because Tyrian was fucking dangerous, but because if Clover turned around and tried to arrest them, he wouldn’t get the kids. 

Not on Qrow’s watch. 

He nearly stepped on Clover, crouched behind a rock and blending in to the pristine white snow and rusty brown of the rock. He glanced up at Qrow, not seeming at all surprised by the lack of kids following after him, and pointed downhill. He followed his finger, not seeing anything at first, until movement caught his eye. 

And there he was. Tyrian Callows hopped from rock to rock, his shiny prosthetic tail curled behind him. Qrow’s grip on Harbinger tightened for a moment as his mind flew back to the searing flash of pain in his side, the hazy hours afterwards as he drifted closer to death while the poison coursed through his veins. He shook the memory off and crouched down next to Clover.

“What’s the plan?” he asked. 

“You distract him,” Clover said. “I’ll go around behind.” 

Qrow bit his lip to stop the argument he so very much wanted to voice and nodded. He didn’t exactly trust Clover, but he would have to have faith the man really did want to arrest Tyrian. He unsheathed Harbinger and slid down the slope, stepping right into Tyrian’s view. He didn’t look at all surprised to see Qrow as he leaped off his rock to land on the ground in a crouch, a wide grin splitting his face. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” he said, and promptly burst into a fit of laughter. 

Qrow really missed his hot chocolate. 

He raised his weapon and shot at Tyrian- he didn’t expect the blow to hit, and it didn’t, but at least it shut him up as he leaped into the air and unsheathed his own weapons. His feet had barely touched the ground again before he lunged for Qrow. He managed to block Tyrian’s first blow, but his aura would have to take the hit from his second one as Harbinger went wide- too far for Qrow to pull it back in time. 

Except it never hit, as a hook latched onto Tyrian’s raised bladed gauntlet and yanked him back onto his ass. Even he looked surprised as he flipped back onto his feet, glancing between Qrow and Clover. 

“Isn’t this a surprising turn of events?” he asked. 

“You talk too much,” Qrow said. 

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Clover agreed. 

Tyrian growled (he fucking growled, and Qrow was pretty sure scorpions didn’t actually make that noise but whatever) and whirled around, lunging for Clover. 

And then everything went to shit. Just Qrow’s luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes the second to last chapter of part one! I'm dividing this story into two 'arcs' and, you guessed it, the second one will take place in Mantle and Atlas (City). Thank you all for bearing with me and being patient! It's been a stressful time, what with the state of the world rn, but all my wonderful commenters and my friends have kept me going! Anyways, sorry for the slight cliffhanger lmao. 
> 
> This part you don't have to read, but! I wanted to say something. At the time of me writing this, this fic has 2214 hits. That's a big deal to me, because back in high school, I had panic attacks thinking about people reading my stories. And now, here we are, and over two thousand people have read this. I'd like to thank all of you for reading this, and all of you that have been super supportive while reading this. Thank you all so so much.


	8. Out in the Open pt. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's happening!!! The scorpion gets his butt whooped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long, this fight scene was giving me a lot of trouble, but I wanted to make sure it came out alright!

Clover readied himself to face Tyrian, retracting Kingfisher’s line so he could use it as a staff to block his strikes. Qrow lifted his weapon and bolted after him, but, whether it was bad luck or the fact ice was nearly invisible against the snow, he slipped and stumbled forward a little. That split second of distraction let Tyrian get close enough, and Clover gritted his teeth as he dodged a hit from his gauntlets by a hair. 

Focus, he reminded himself. Qrow could handle himself. 

He deflected a strike from Tyrian’s tail and tried to back up to give himself enough room to extend Kingfisher’s line again, but the Faunus followed him with a flurry of blows, not giving him a moment to catch his breath. 

A shot cracked through the frozen air, hitting Tyrian in the side. His aura shimmered violet, and he whirled around. On top of the ridge, Ruby stood framed against the sun, scythe planted into the ground to fire at him. Clover took advantage of his split-second distraction and slid through the snow past him. He let Kingfisher’s line fly as he did, wrapping around Tyrian and pinning his arms to his side. As he used one foot to push himself back up, he planted his other and swung, throwing the Faunus into the side of a rock. 

His aura flickered again as he thrashed free. The smile had disappeared from his face, and with a shriek, he launched himself at Clover. He blocked his gauntlets, but half a second too late he remembered his tail as it arced though the air towards his shoulder. 

Except the hit never came. 

Qrow skidded to a halt and smacked Tyrian with his sword like it was a baseball bat, throwing him into the air like a rag doll. He righted himself in midair, firing at the two Huntsmen so he could land safely out of arm’s reach. Ruby fired at him again, but the shot just missed his face as he leaned back, turning his attention to her. 

“No you don’t!” Qrow shouted. 

Tyrian stumbled forward as a grenade hit his back in an explosion of pink. Farther away, Nora laughed and flashed him the middle finger, resting her weapon against her shoulder. Jaune stood in front of her, his shield up to protect them from any returning fire. Qrow surged forward, swinging his sword towards Tyrian’s head. 

Clover saw it before Qrow did, as the Faunus dropped into a crouch and kicked his legs out from under him. He jammed a gauntlet under Qrow’s chin, looking up at Clover with a sneer. His eyes had gone a bright violet, the same shade as the aura shimmering on his hands. Clover froze- why did he freeze? He should be trying to arrest him, but gods, he couldn’t bring himself to risk Tyrian killing Qrow. 

Which, apparently, did not go unnoticed. 

“Now that’s interesting,” Tyrian said. 

Qrow met his eyes, shocked. The kids, in their various positions, seemed frozen as well, unwilling to put their uncle slash father figure slash whatever Qrow was to them in more danger. A stroke of luck would be exactly what they needed. Clover tried to run through possible solutions to get all of them out of this alive, but some part of him kept returning to Qrow on the ground, Tyrian’s blades a hairsbreadth from his throat. 

“Callows,” he started. 

Something sliced through the air, striking Tyrian in the side before it arced back to its owner. He stumbled off balance, leaving only a thin line of blood on Qrow’s throat as Marrow slowed to a stop next to Clover. He raised a single finger at Tyrian and said, “Stay.” 

He froze. His face cycled through about seven different versions of rage, but Clover ignored him for the moment and rushed forward to pull Qrow away. He probably couldn’t break free, but he didn’t want to risk that. 

“Are you alright?” he asked. 

“I’ll be fine,” Qrow answered. A hand reached up to rub at his throat, coming away stained with drops of blood. He laughed, but the sound echoed hollowly on the frozen snow. “That could have been bad.” 

“Yeah,” Clover agreed, closing his eyes for a brief second. He turned to Marrow, still pointing at a frozen Tyrian, and raised an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know?” 

“Hmm yeah, you’re gonna have to be more specific than that,” Marrow said. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Saving you, apparently.” His tail wagged behind him as he grinned. Clover just stared, and after a few seconds he chuckled sheepishly. “It’s kind of a funny story, actually. You see, I was visiting Pietro to fix my weapon. And he mentioned you, and so long story short I got worried because this was kind of out of character for you so I came to check to see if you were alright!” 

“Who is this?” Qrow asked as he climbed to his feet. 

“Marrow, this is Qrow. Qrow, Marrow.” 

Marrow studied Qrow while Clover unhooked the restraints from his belt, his tail slowing slightly as he looked the Huntsman up and down. Qrow didn’t seem to know what to make of it as Clover handcuffed Tyrian, taking extra care to make sure his tail couldn’t break free and stab anybody. Marrow had crossed his arms when he turned back around, grinning smugly at him. 

“What?” Clover asked. 

“You are no longer allowed to tease me about May,” he said. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Qrow asked suspiciously. 

“That. Doesn’t. Matter,” he replied, sending a glare at Marrow. 

“Best enjoy it while you can!” Tyrian cackled. “Because the sky will come falling down, and there’s nothing you can do!” 

“Uh.” Marrow blinked at him, then at Clover. “Does he always do that?” 

“I mean. Yeah?” Qrow shrugged. “You might wanna gag him, or he’ll get on every nerve you have.” 

“Thanks for the advice,” Clover said. “Speaking of. We’ll be calling a prisoner transport here in a minute. You might want to get going. Before they come asking questions about a certain stolen airship.” 

Qrow stared at him, his eyebrows raised. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but nothing came out. 

“Qrow, I can tell you’re not bad people. Now go, before others who will arrest you get here.” 

“I… Thank you,” he said. He holstered his weapon and stepped away, heading towards the cluster of children waiting for him, throwing one last glance over his shoulder at them. 

“Wow, you really like him,” Marrow commented. 

“We are not mentioning this to anybody else.” 

“My lips are sealed.” Marrow gave him a thumbs up, looking very much like a certain Huntress as he did. Clover briefly wondered how much he had been hanging around the Happy Huntresses, but then his face turned serious. “He seems oddly okay with being arrested.” 

Clover glanced towards Tyrian. Marrow was right, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions and drive the General to some drastic action all for nothing. As much as he was loathe to admit it, maybe an unconventional approach would work better. For the time being, at least until they figured out if there really was something fishy going on. 

“We’ll figure it out,” he promised Marrow. 

And something told him this wouldn’t be the last he saw of Qrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes part one! I'm finishing up the plotting of part two, but it won't be too long! it'll all be apart of one work, so don't worry about that. They're more like 'arcs' then parts but ya know! words are hard sometimes.   
> anyways, here's a meme for this chapter:   
> the kids @ qrow: you're my dad, you're my dad! boogie woogie woogie!  
> alternatively:   
> marrow @ clover: you're my dad, you're my dad! boogie woogie woogie!


	9. We Can't Let People Know We YEARN

The relative peace lasted one week. 

Clover and Marrow took Callows back to Atlas, where he would get the long-overdue justice for the trail of bodies he had left before he disappeared. Clover didn’t feel comfortable, exactly, lying to Ironwood, but he hadn’t felt any ill-intent, from Qrow or his gaggle of kids, and the Atlas fleet could spare one airship. 

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling they were teetering on the edge of something he couldn’t quite put his finger on- one shove, and their carefully constructed peace would come falling down on their heads. 

Even the team picked up on it. 

Elm slammed her cards down on the table, causing Marrow to jump and smack his knees on the underside of it. She leaned over, her face inches from Clover’s, and narrowed her eyes. He raised one eyebrow, placing his own cards face down on the table, while Marrow grumbled something under his breath and shot her a glare. 

“Spit it out,” she said. 

“Spit what out?” he asked. 

“You’ve been moping for a week. What is wrong with you?” 

“I haven’t been moping!” 

“Well, something’s up,” Harriet said, reaching over to take a peek at Elm’s cards while she was distracted. “You’re anxious and it’s getting on my nerves.”

“Their observations are correct,” Vine said, raising one eyebrow at Harriet. 

“Is it about a guy?” Elm exclaimed, suddenly perking up. 

Clover choked on his next breath, while Marrow suddenly became very interested in his cards. She stood up, her chair clattering to the ground, and crowed with triumph. He groans inwardly, because now Elm would never shut up- never mind that she was wrong, he was not moping about a guy. 

He was saved by the blaring of the alarms, signaling yet another Grimm attack down in Mantle. Elm shot him a look that promised she would not let it go, but thankfully, she focused on doing her job as they abandoned their card game to rush for the hangars. 

Fighting the Grimm would give him a chance to focus on something- anything- besides Qrow, Tyrian, and the lies Clover had fed Ironwood. It went against everything the Academy had drilled into him, to lie to a superior officer, to directly disobey orders, and the General’s easy acceptance of his explanation didn’t help. Maybe his teammates’ nagging had some merit to it- the guilt had kept him up at night, tossing and turning into the early hours of the morning. 

And here he was, thinking about it again. 

He shook his head as he followed his teammates into the airship, trying to focus on the mission at hand. 

Qrow would have rather left Atlas, taken their hijacked ship and flown off towards Vacuo, but of course the kids had heard what Tyrian said, and no amount of arguing, pleading, and putting his foot down would change their minds. Atlas could take care of itself, he reasoned, but Brothers forbid the kids listen to reason. 

“You have a hot guy falling at your feet and you want to run away?” Maria had asked, which prompted a round of laughter from the whole group, much to Qrow’s annoyance.   
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you old hag,” he said, at which they dissolved into laughter again, and earned him a sharp whap with Maria’s cane across his shins. 

He didn’t know why he bothered. 

And, to put it nicely, Mantle had gone to shit. It had never been a particularly beautiful or wealthy city, but in the years since Qrow had last visited, the streets had somehow gotten dirtier, the chill sharper, and judging by the graffiti, the people angrier. The closing of the planet had hit it harder, especially considering the citizens of Mantle couldn’t grow their own food. 

The prices posted in the windows of the grocery stores made Qrow wince and look away- of course the farmers up in Atlas City would raise their prices, knowing the citizens down below had no choice but to pay it. That wasn’t even mentioning the gaping holes in the walls meant to keep Grimm out, one of which they had snuck through.   
“This is awful,” Blake said, her ears flattening against her head. 

“Yeah?” a drunken voice called. The source, a man drunk of his shit and barely able to stand upright, staggered towards them. “If it’s so awful, why don’t you just leave? The tundra is sooooo much better.” 

“I’m sorry,” Blake replied, her voice even, her hands raised in a placating gesture. “I didn’t mean it like that.” 

“Fuck off,” Yang added. 

“Before we make you,” Weiss said. 

The man looked about ready to say something, but one look from Qrow, and a particularly icy glare from Weiss, sent him scrambling back the way he had come. Yang crossed her arms, glaring after him until he had disappeared around the corner. 

“He’s just looking for someone to take his anger out on,” Yang said, reaching out to take Blake’s hand in her own. 

“We should go,” Weiss said. “Before he grabs the authorities.” 

They hurried on, looking for anywhere they could spend the night that wasn’t a cold, dark alley. At least the lodging prices would be cheap, Qrow supposed, though he wasn’t looking forward to sharing a small space with eight boisterous teens and a cranky old lady.

“I think I know someone who can help us,” Maria said, waving her cane in the air and starting off down a side street. 

“You just mention this now?” Qrow grumbled, dodging a whack from her cane. 

“Is this person trustworthy?” Ruby asked. 

“I sure hope so!” That was not the most comforting thing to hear, but Maria had never been one for sugar-coating the truth, anyway. “He fixes up my eyes. I haven’t seen him in a while, because of the closure. If he’s still there, he’ll help us.” 

“It can’t hurt to check,” Ren said. 

And that was that. 

Qrow shoved his hands in his pockets, following them through the streets of Mantle, trying not to glance up at the looming underside of Atlas City, floating high above them. Clover was probably up there, right now. Had he told Ironwood about them? Or had he kept them a secret? 

Did his thoughts keep wandering to Qrow, like Qrow’s thoughts did to him? 

Stupid Atlesians.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip to canon but i'm making the Ace Ops friends. Even if they won't admit it


	10. At Least There's a Crow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clover is confused. Qrow is suffering. Nothing new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a lil fast but I had some fun writing this chapter! Hope you all enjoy!

“And remember, be back before dinner,” Qrow instructed, glaring at each teenager in turn. After the incident yesterday, when Nora had started a fight with a drone and Yang had finished it by kicking it into a wall, he had been reluctant to let them go out at all. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen to him anyway, and they could cover more ground with Qrow taking his bird form and the kids pairing up and scouring Mantle. 

Nobody had shown up at Pietro’s- Maria’s friend- since they had destroyed that drone, so he figured they were safe for the time being. At least, safe from any authorities Atlas sent after them, and Mantle’s citizens didn’t seem to be too keen on the drones, either, so they hadn’t had any trouble from them. 

“We’ll be fine,” Yang assured him. She threw an arm around Blake’s shoulders and gave him a grin that was not reassuring in the slightest. 

“Just don’t get arrested,” he said, pinching his nose and holding back a sigh. He shot a look at Nora, who he just knew was the cause of at least half his new gray hairs over the past few months, and turned away shift into a bird, fluttering over to the door and landing on the windowsill. 

“He’s just grumpy he hasn’t seen that Atlesian guy,” Ruby whispered to Nora. 

He squawked indignantly, ruffling his feathers and drawing snickers from the assembled teenagers. 

Yang moved over to the door to open and whispered under her breath, “Go get him!” 

He glared at her the best he could manage and flew out, soaring high over the dingy rooftops of Mantle. While he had yet to see anything that screamed “Salem” it wasn’t entirely true that he hadn’t seen Clover. Granted, it was only from afar- his white uniform was easy to spot amongst the grays and browns- but he had always been with others, and Qrow hadn’t found it in him to approach, even as a bird. 

Maybe once Yang and Blake managed to track down that Robyn Hill Mantle seemed to love so much, they could actually make headway on proving Tyrian had been talking out his ass and move on, fly to Vacuo, where the whole damn planet wouldn’t be shut down. Or so fucking cold. 

He landed on a lamppost near a small café to give his wings a small break, fluffing his feathers against the biting wind. Somehow, Atlas even managed to suck the joy out of flying, he grumped as he turned one eye to glare up at the city floating high above them. 

He was just about to take off again when the door opened and two figures in white uniforms stepped out. The one closest to him, a towering woman with a massive hammer strapped to her back, blocked most of his view of the second one, but he recognized the voice instantly. 

“Maybe, if you want your kitchen rights back,” Clover said, “you should stop setting stuff on fire every time you try to use it.” 

“I don’t set something on fire every time I try to use it,” the woman scoffed. 

“You tried to bake a cake at eight hundred degrees.” 

“I thought it would go faster!”

Clover stopped, crossing his arms over his chest to glare up at her. His mouth opened to say something, but then his eyes landed on Qrow and he froze. The woman stared at him for a second, before turning to look up at Qrow, still perched on the lamppost. She squealed with delight and took a few steps closer, staring up at him with nothing short of amazement. 

“A bird!” 

“It’s a crow,” Clover said, his eyes still locked on Qrow. “I saw one of them on my mission, too.” 

“You think it’s the same one?”

“Possible. It’s got the same look about it.” Qrow ruffled his feathers and squawked. What was that supposed to mean? Clover laughed and added, “It’s got the same attitude, too.” 

“I think it likes you,” the woman declared. 

“What?” 

“If it followed you all the way here, it must like you,” she reasoned. 

“Elm,” Clover groaned. “We don’t even know if it’s the same one.” 

“You go on one solo mission and you come back with a massive crush and a bird?” She laughed, punching him in the shoulder and just about sending him flying into the ground. “Wow, you’ve been busy.”

“Elm!” He righted himself and glared at her. “Come on, we have a job to do.” 

“Oh, now you’re eager to do your job.” She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think you would be so keen to get into another argument with Hill.” 

“We’re not going there to argue.” He glanced up at Qrow before he started walking, Elm falling into step beside him. “We’re going there to ask about the supplies that have been going missing.” 

“That she and her Huntresses have been stealing.” 

“We have no proof.” 

“Oh right, we’ll just ask her to confess. She’ll totally do that.” 

Qrow lifted into the air to follow them, landing on a lamppost every now and then so he didn’t get too far ahead. Hill had to be Robyn Hill- though the fact supplies were going missing was news to him. Though, if it was Robyn Hill, he could hardly fault her for stealing them. 

“No, but the General asked us to talk to her, so that’s what we’re doing,” Clover said. 

“I know. Orders are orders.” Elm shook her head, glancing up at Qrow as he landed on another lamppost. “That thing is still following us.” 

Clover followed her gaze, blinking up at Qrow curiously. After a moment, he shrugged and stopped in front of a small warehouse, a sign in the window that marked it as ‘The Office of Robyn Hill.’ He raised his fist and knocked sharply on the door, and that would have been the point Qrow flew away, with little hope for getting inside to listen, when the door opened and a familiar voice drifted out. 

Yang. 

Of all the nights for them to find Robyn Hill. 

He made a split second decision and fluttered down to land on Clover’s head, drawing the startled gazes of Elm and the woman in the door, a tall, blue haired Huntress. Elm raised a hand to shoo him and he bit down, hard, on her finger. She yelped and drew her hand back, and the blue-haired woman snorted. 

“Does that happen often?” she asked. 

“This is a first,” Clover said. 

“Do you have to come in?” 

“That would be preferable.” 

“Ugh. Whatever.” She stepped away, holding the door open for them. Qrow turned his head as Clover and Elm stepped in, watching as the Huntress flipped them the bird behind their backs. He laughed before he could stop himself, and the Huntress’ eyes widened, then, slowly, a wide grin stretched across her face as she shut the door behind her. 

“That bird is growing on me,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated! Feel free to stop by my tumblr @fionathymes and say hi, and stay safe!


	11. the bird is angyyyyy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiona contemplates murder. So does a certain crow. Clover questions his sanity (again) this time feat. Elm

To her credit, Robyn only gave the bird a bemused glance as Elm and Clover stepped inside. Fiona whispered something to May as she joined her standing in front of the stairs leading up to the loft, drawing a snort from the Huntress that she didn’t even try to hide. He didn’t see any signs of Joanna, or the unfamiliar voice he’d heard as May opened the door. 

“Why do I have the pleasure of seeing your face today?” Robyn asked dryly. 

The bird fluttered off his head to land on one of the desks in the warehouse, giving the humans a look like it was daring them to try and move it. 

“We’re here about the supplies that have been going missing.” 

He watched Robyn for any change in her demeanor, but she just raised an eyebrow and gestured to the rest of the warehouse. Her voice held a hint of amusement as she said, “Well, they aren’t here.” 

Clover glanced towards Fiona, who just raised her chin and narrowed her eyes. He shifted his gaze back to Robyn, who had crossed her arms and was giving him a look that was far from friendly. 

“Have you seen anything on your patrols? Anyone suspicious?” he pressed. 

“No,” she said. 

Elm scoffed behind him.

“If you do, you know how to contact us,” he said, ignoring Elm. Something thumped in the loft above them, and all the Huntresses froze. “What was that?” 

“Rats!” Fiona answered, a little too quickly for Clover’s liking. “We’ve got rats in the loft. Joanna’s trying to get them out.” 

“That was rather loud for a rat,” Clover pointed out. 

“It could have been Joanna.” Fiona crossed her arms and glared up at him, her ears flattened back against the side of her head. He really didn’t want to piss the Faunus woman off more than he had too- she was a force to be reckoned with, and an absolute menace when she wanted to be- but the Huntresses’ reactions set off alarm bells ringing. “Hey, May, why don’t you go help Joanna?” 

“Ugh, fine,” May grumbled. 

“Elm, go help them. It sounded like something heavy got knocked over,” Clover said, without taking his eyes off Fiona. 

“We don’t need your help,” May snapped, one foot already on the bottom stair. 

“I didn’t say you did. But an extra set of hands can’t hurt.” May glared at him, but she didn’t have a comeback for that. “I don’t see what the problem is, if you’re not hiding anything.” 

“Fuck you,” May said.

“Fuck you,” Fiona agreed. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” 

“No, he has a point.” Elm stepped forward, and Robyn moved between her and her two teammates. “Move.” 

With a loud squawk, the crow that everyone had managed to forget about launched itself off the desk and flew right at Elm. She yelped, throwing her arms in front of her face as it clawed at her. Clover stood frozen for a moment before leaping forward to grab it. Trying to keep a hold of the damn thing without hurting it was a struggle, but after a few moments, it calmed down enough that it wasn’t fighting him anymore. It glared up at him with its strange red eyes, making a small noise that almost sounded like a grumble. 

“What was that for?” he demanded. With a small sigh, he turned back to Robyn and Fiona, noticing that May had completely disappeared. Which meant that, if there was anybody up in the loft, they probably wouldn’t see them tonight. 

“Good evening,” Robyn said, jerking her chin towards the door. 

“Thank you for your time, Miss Hill.” Elm muttered something under her breath as she stalked off, but he lingered behind for a moment. “Please keep an eye out, and let us know if you see anything, or anyone, suspicious.” 

“Right.” 

He turned and followed Elm, letting the door swing shut behind him as he stared down at the crow. It glared back at him- really, it was amazing how pissed off it managed to look. 

“Seriously, what got into you?” he asked. 

“You’re talking to a bird,” Elm said. 

“It’s a smart bird.” Even as he said it, he was aware of how ridiculous that argument was. He sighed and opened up his hands to let it flutter up to a nearby lamppost, where it stopped to give them one more look and an angry caw before it flew off. 

“Sometimes, I really don’t get you, Ebi,” was all Elm said.

“Me neither,” he muttered to himself. 

Qrow waited until he saw the blue-haired Huntress appear behind the warehouse out of thin air- useful semblance- with his niece and her girlfriend, hopping around on the roof impatiently. As soon as the Huntress went back inside, he fluttered down and shifted in mid-air, landing as a human in front of them. 

“Before you get mad,” Yang said immediately. “You told us to find Robyn Hill.” 

“And we got good information,” Blake added. 

“I’m too old for you to stress me out like that,” Qrow muttered. “Come on, let’s go and make sure nobody else almost got into trouble.” 

He shoved his hands into his pocket with a sigh, almost (almost) wishing he had his flask with him. He shook that thought as soon as he thought it- now was not the time, or place, to entertain that. Yang and Blake fell into step beside him, and he could feel them not-so-subtly staring at him. 

“What?” he asked finally. 

“You were sitting on his head,” Yang said. 

“Oh, shut up.” He rolled his eyes, but of course his niece wouldn’t drop it. 

“You never do that,” she said. 

“If I had to guess, I’d say you like him” Blake added. 

“You’re killing me. You’re killing your uncle,” he grumbled. 

“I do it with love,” Yang teased. “I can’t wait to show Ruby.” 

“Wait, show?”   
“I got pictures!”   
“Like hell you’re gonna show her!”   
Yang bolted ahead, Blake hot on her heels, their laughter echoing down the street, and despite himself, Qrow found himself laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are getting there! sorry for the shorter chapter, but it was the only way not to have awkward scene breaks ghksdj
> 
> fun fact: I headcanon that fiona absolutely made Ironwood's life living hell during her academy days, absolute little shit energy, how could robyn NOT fall in love?

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is a little incoherent, I downed a whole coffee and wrote this in a fit of inspiration. Thanks for reading, and hopefully updates won't be too irregular. 
> 
> Tbh I headcanon Clover as being a wee bit of a disaster, even if he never shows it.


End file.
